Writing Poetry Through Storms and Showers

“You have helped me learn how to write a poem. You have taught me how to shape an essay. But I’m not sure about how to get something published. How do I publish my work?” “If an editor sends my poems or essays back without comments, how can I figure out what to do to in revision to get them accepted for publication?” These are questions asked not only by new writers, but even by those with some publication history. I’d like to share information and strategies helpful for approaching both publication and handling rejection.

Step One: Find Local People to Be Your Guides

There are many, many venues for publishing poems and personal essays, from local literary reviews to online magazines and websites to major national publications. If you are just beginning to publish, chances are small that The New Yorker or The Atlantic will accept your work. They have a stable of poets they’ve been publishing for awhile and connections to major poets with students in Creative Writing Programs. Distinguished national publications like The Christian Science Monitor, Ploughshares, Poetry Northwest, and Poetry may be interested, but if you haven’t published before, finding local editors or editors of magazines designed for your community (regional, vocational, or religious) is the first best idea. They are more used to the voice, perceptions and concerns of poets and writers in your community. They are more accessible. They are often looking for something quite different than the national newsstand magazines. If you are studying in a creative writing program or continuing education program, these local editors may very well be your teachers or be known by your teachers. You will have an easier time connecting. Do not pass up the opportunity to submit work to them.

 If you are on your own, connect with a poetry or writing organization either online or in your community. People in these groups will have information for you on editors and magazines seeking submissions. They will know of directories or newsletters devoted to this information. Call your local arts commission, university or college creative writing office or literary bookstore and ask if they have this information available. On the web, you can search for publishing information sources using such keywords as “poetry,” “poetry magazines,” “publishing poetry,” “essay publishing” or “publishing personal narratives.” Periodicals like Poets and Writers, Poetry Flash and Writer’s Digest Magazine regularly announce submission requests. The Poets Market and The Writer’s Market from Writer’s Digest Books are very thorough references available at libraries and bookstores. The quarterly Poets and Writers Magazine has submissions wanted ads. The Writer’s Lounge online offers essay publication information at http://writerslounge.com/cgi-bin/em/journal.cgi?entry=200204301240 and an inexpensive e-book on paying markets available through http://writerslounge.com/sales.htmlas. In addition, WritingtoHeal.com at http://www.writingtoheal.com/pew/markets.html has some market information.

Step Two: Read the magazines you are thinking of submitting to.

Of course, you can’t read the majority of publications out there devoted to publishing poetry and essays, but make a habit of reading many of them. Get the sound of what they publish in your ears so you can learn whether your work fits the editorial vision of the publications. Make note of a particular poem or essay you liked and later in a cover letter, let the editor know what you felt. You can find these publications at newsstands, libraries, coffeehouses, and literary and community centers. Subscribe to some of them. Rotate subscriptions or trade issues among a group of people. Go the library and read new and back issues as regularly as you can.

Step Three: Know what a submission includes.

Editors appreciate a short cover letter stating the titles of the poems you’ve enclosed and just a touch of background information about you: where you’ve already published if you have, who you are studying with if you are, or what you do for living. Include 3-6 poems or one to three short essays depending on their length so editors get used to your voice and have several pieces to chose from. Include a self- addressed stamped envelope for acceptance/rejection information. These days, most editors don’t return copies.

Some publications allow multiple submissions and some do not. Be careful to note this. If you submit your work to more than one publication at a time, you must notify the other publications in the event of an acceptance. If after several months, you haven’t heard from a publication, making a phone, email or written inquiry about the status of your submission is appropriate. But do remember that many small magazines have many submissions and few staff and do take awhile to respond.

Step Four: Sit down and put the submissions together.

Sometimes as much as we want to publish, we don’t get the paper work done. Schedule a few hours every month or two to perform the tasks of submitting—1) deciding on publications, 2) finding the editorial information you need, 3) printing or making copies, 4) writing cover letters, 5) addressing envelopes, 6) recording where you are sending what and when you expect to hear from each publication. This record keeping will work best for you if you note where you learned about the publication, who the editor is and what the phone number, address and email addresses are. . And then most important, do the next step—7) MAIL THE SUBMISSIONS OUT!

This is definitely busy work, but that’s the only way to get published.

Step Five: Handle Rejection Constructively.

You will most likely receive more rejections than acceptances. You can not expect editors to give you detailed reasons why they rejected your work. They do not have the time to explain themselves. What you need to do is connect with other working writers to get some help on revision or some support for resubmitting the piece to other publications. Despite some editors’ ideas that there are objective literary standards and they are practicing them, editorial views are subjective. Tastes are subjective. The reasons for certain choices are elusive and ill defined. Your job is to keep writing the very best poems and essays you can. Therefore, join a peer response group or study with a teacher as often as you can. Bring in your rejected work and see what new eyes and ears help bring to the work. Do not stay rigidly sure nothing must be changed. If you feel that way, keep the original and send it out again and at the same time begin revising it to see what new poem or essay emerges. We can get very tied to work that is not yet fully manifest because it is exhausting to continue in uncharted territory. But uncharted territory is the domain of the poet and essayist and when you have finished your journey there and communicated it fully and evocatively, your work will find a home!

Some Places to Consider for Publication:

Following are a few magazines you may not have heard about that I recommend. Brevity is an online publication and the others are print publications with home pages online that describe the magazines and guidelines for submissions:

Stories with Grace, visit www.storieswithgrace.com for more information.

Brevity, visit www.creativenonfiction.org/brevity for more information.

Tiny Lights: A Journal of Personal Essay, visit www.tiny-lights.com for more information.

Rosebud Magazine, visit www.rsbd.com for more information.

Poet Lore, visit www.writer.org/poetlore/ for more information.

ONTHEBUS Magazine, visit www.beachnet.com/~apeiron/OTB.HTM for more information.